To the Editor: How can the state and federal governments allow this to happen? Our underground water source is at risk. The very source of existence for all life on this planet. What is amazing to me is that these people have the power to allow the outcome of a potential disaster to affect all life in the area. How can we be so stupid to think that the outcome of this decision will not be a potential health disaster to the underwater aquifer? Cement kiln dust put in a tea bag in water would take over 60 years to stop leaching.

The new budget is based in part, on a student enrollment of 266 students for which the district is expected to receive a foundation grant allowance from the state of $6,700 per student to generate revenues of $1,782,200 of the total budget. The board also approved a final budget amendment for the 2001-2002 school year at their meeting. The district projected expenditures of $2,111,061 and revenues of $2,215,600 a difference of +$104,539 to finish out the year. Supt. Ellen Bonter explained the budget surplus for the past school year was due to a number of factors - primarily savings in salaries for three teachers who were replaced during the school year by less expensive substitute teachers and one teacher's salary which was covered by a grant.

LIVINGSTON TWP. - Livingston Township board members voted unanimously Monday not to sell bonds to fund a Type I water supply for Hawks Landing, a private, 70-unit development approved for Hayes Road south of McLouth Road. The property is owned by Chesley Inc. and is being developed by Hawks Landing LLC with partners in Gaylord and Bellaire. The water system was estimated to cost $640,000. According to Scott Chesley, Chesley Inc., although "disappointed" with Monday night's decision by the Livingston Township Board to not issue the bonds for the proposed water system, "We are grateful and encouraged that the township board voiced its support for the Hawks Landing condominium project at Monday evening's meeting.

WALLOON LAKE - Hampered by snow-covered roads and bone-chilling temperatures, firefighters could do little to save the home of a Chandler Township man Thursday. The Melrose Township Fire Department was called to the John Kukila residence at 3630 Cobb Road at about 11:53 a.m. when a neighbor reported a fire in the building. Melrose Township Fire Chief Dennis Howard said thick black smoke was coming from the building when firefighters arrived on the scene. The temperature at the time of the fire was about 7 degrees with wind chills well below zero.

LIVINGSTON TWP. - The members of the Livingston Township Planning Commission voted Thursday to approve a special use permit for a 35-duplex-style condominium development, Hawks Landing, which was proposed by Kowatch Builders & Developers. The permit will now go before the township board for approval at its Monday meeting scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Livingston Township Hall where the issue of a township water well to supply the project is also on the agenda. The proposed 70 single-family units for the development are planned to be built on a 35-acre parcel of land north of Sommerfeld Village and southwest of McLouth Road.

The Health Department of Northwest Michigan is encouraging people to take simple and affordable steps to test their homes for harmful levels of radon gas as part of National Radon Action Month. Radon is an invisible, odorless, tasteless radioactive gas that comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water. While it causes no immediate symptoms, it is the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and kills more than 21,000 each year in the United States.

GAYLORD ? Free water testing is being conducted July 20 for anyone with a private drinking water well they?d like tested for triazine pesticides, nitrates and nitrites. Residents who wish to have their water tested may pick up sample bottles and sampling directions from the Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) office, 800 Livingston Blvd., Suite 4A-2, in Gaylord. All well water samples should be taken and returned to the MSUE office on July 20 between 8 a.m. and noon.

CROSS VILLAGE -- A fast moving fire destroyed a Readmond Township home Monday morning. The fire broke out around 8:30 a.m. at the home on Division Road, just south of Cross Village. The homeowner was out shoveling his driveway when he noticed thick smoke coming from the chimney. He rushed inside, and woke up his wife. Both escaped the fire with their two dogs, but their three cats are still missing. Don Horn, fire chief of the Readmond-Friendship-Cross Village Fire Department, said the fire moved quickly through the home and by the time he arrived on the scene, flames were already coming through the roof.

OTSEGO LAKE TWP. - A home was destroyed by fire after crews worked through Thursday night into Friday morning trying to put out hard-to-reach flames. The home's owner reportedly received burns and was transported to Otsego Memorial Hospital. Otsego Lake Township Fire Department Chief Joe Shelly said the call went out at 7:30 p.m. Thursday of a structure fire on Krause Road, off Sherman Road, near the county line. He said 30-foot flames were shooting from the home by the time crews arrived and most of the flames were knocked down quickly.

GAYLORD - At least four defendants named in a civil lawsuit the city filed last month seeking to force some property owners to connect to city water and sewer lines are fighting back in Circuit Court. The city's lawsuit, filed by city attorney Steve DuBois, claims the owners of about 14 parcels of property - located mainly along Otsego Avenue between McCoy and Johnson roads - should have connected to the city's water and sewer system as required by city ordinance and state law. In an answer to the city's complaint, Gaylord attorney James F. Pagels noted the defendants deny the city's primary claims that "the failure, refusal and neglect of the owners of said properties to connect to the water facilities of the city of Gaylord constitutes a violation of the city ordinance" and that this "constitutes a nuisance in that the same is a hazard or potential hazard to the public health, safety and general welfare.

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The FBI is among the agencies hosting a workshop this week at Michigan State University focusing on the safety of the water supply and the agriculture sector. The "Multi-Sector Infrastructure Protection and Threat Workshop" takes places Wednesday and Thursday at the East Lansing campus. The FBI says similar workshops have been held in other parts of the country. The FBI says one of the main issues is "protecting water, food, and agriculture assets. " The workshop will include presentations from the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Is your well water safe? It may look crystal clear, but don't let that fool you; contaminants could be lurking. The only way to know for sure if your home's drinking water is safe is to have it tested. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends having well water tested every year, and the best time to do so is now, in the spring after a few rainy days. "Unlike public water systems, there are no water quality monitoring requirements for private wells, and many never get tested," said Scott Kendzierski, director of environmental health services for the Health Department of Northwest Michigan.

The Health Department of Northwest Michigan is encouraging people to take simple and affordable steps to test their homes for harmful levels of radon gas as part of National Radon Action Month. Radon is an invisible, odorless, tasteless radioactive gas that comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water. While it causes no immediate symptoms, it is the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and kills more than 21,000 each year in the United States.

OTSEGO LAKE TWP. - A home was destroyed by fire after crews worked through Thursday night into Friday morning trying to put out hard-to-reach flames. The home's owner reportedly received burns and was transported to Otsego Memorial Hospital. Otsego Lake Township Fire Department Chief Joe Shelly said the call went out at 7:30 p.m. Thursday of a structure fire on Krause Road, off Sherman Road, near the county line. He said 30-foot flames were shooting from the home by the time crews arrived and most of the flames were knocked down quickly.

CROSS VILLAGE -- A fast moving fire destroyed a Readmond Township home Monday morning. The fire broke out around 8:30 a.m. at the home on Division Road, just south of Cross Village. The homeowner was out shoveling his driveway when he noticed thick smoke coming from the chimney. He rushed inside, and woke up his wife. Both escaped the fire with their two dogs, but their three cats are still missing. Don Horn, fire chief of the Readmond-Friendship-Cross Village Fire Department, said the fire moved quickly through the home and by the time he arrived on the scene, flames were already coming through the roof.

As interest in Michigan’s underground natural resources increases, so do concerns over what drilling could mean for the environment. While there are a lot of unknowns as to what effect drilling would have in the long term, most concerns rise over the possibility of contamination of the water supply. “My biggest concern is the groundwater, always,” said Susan Topp, a Gaylord attorney who has specialized in mineral rights leases since 1992. “Ground water is our most precious resource.

GAYLORD ? Free water testing is being conducted July 20 for anyone with a private drinking water well they?d like tested for triazine pesticides, nitrates and nitrites. Residents who wish to have their water tested may pick up sample bottles and sampling directions from the Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) office, 800 Livingston Blvd., Suite 4A-2, in Gaylord. All well water samples should be taken and returned to the MSUE office on July 20 between 8 a.m. and noon.

Annoyed. That?s what I was a few weeks ago when I didn?t have water at my house. I had water in the morning, but when I got home that evening, nothing flowed from the faucets. How annoying. The problem, frozen water lines, was corrected within a day, but the lack of this convenience I usually take for granted left me cranky, especially when I had to forgo my morning shower for one day. I?ve already gone without water at the cabin. Two years ago, the pump went out in January and I did without water until June.

To the Editor: How can the state and federal governments allow this to happen? Our underground water source is at risk. The very source of existence for all life on this planet. What is amazing to me is that these people have the power to allow the outcome of a potential disaster to affect all life in the area. How can we be so stupid to think that the outcome of this decision will not be a potential health disaster to the underwater aquifer? Cement kiln dust put in a tea bag in water would take over 60 years to stop leaching.

ELMIRA TWP.- Lake 27 landowners united to stop road workers from pumping what they described as "several thousand gallons" of water from their lake on Thursday. According to property owner Linda Darnton, road construction crews working on the Hayes Tower Road resurfacing project used the state public access site on Lake 27 Tuesday and Wednesday to fill two 5,000-gallon trucks hourly with water from the lake, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. "Michigan law states only landowners are permitted to remove water from inland lakes," Darnton stated in a phone interview Thursday.